A historic renovation of the Church of the Nativity is lifting spirits in the biblical town of Bethlehem ahead of Christmas, offering visitors a look at ancient mosaics and columns that have been restored to their original glory for the first time in 600 years.
City officials hope the renovation at the traditional birthplace of Jesus will boost tourism and a weak economy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and perhaps slow a decades-long drain of the Christian population from the lands where the faith was born.
The renovation started in 2013, a year after UNESCO declared the church a world heritage site, and is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
One of Christianity’s most sacred shrines, the church was built in the fourth century by St. Helena over a cave where the Virgin Mary is said to have given birth. What pilgrims mostly see today is the basilica built by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, who ruled from 527 to 565. Neglected for decades before the renovation, the roof of the church was leaking, windows were broken, mosaics were covered in grime and walls and columns were damaged. After five years of work, it has been transformed.
Bethlehem is heavily dependent on Christmas tourism, with hotels, restaurants and gift stores doing much of their business during the short holiday season. The renovated church has become a popular destination.
(AP)
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
伯利恆耶穌誕生教堂的史跡整修工程,讓這座聖經中的著名城市在耶誕節前精神為之一振。六百年來,參觀者首度能夠一睹古老馬賽克鑲嵌畫和圓柱修復後展現出的往日榮光。
藉由修繕耶穌傳統上的出生地,市政府官員希望可以促進觀光,改善以色列占領的西岸地區當地疲弱的經濟,或許也藉此減緩這處信仰發祥地長達數十年的基督教徒人口流失。
整修工程始於二○一三年,也就是聯合國教科文組織宣布將該教堂列為世界遺產翌年,預期將於明年底完工。
Photo: Reuters
照片:路透
耶穌誕生教堂是基督教中最為神聖的聖殿之一,西元四世紀時由聖海倫納建造於傳說聖母瑪利亞生下耶穌的馬槽原址。不過,今日朝聖者看到的絕大部分建築,主要是拜占庭帝國查士丁尼一世(統治時期為西元五二七年到五六五年間)建造的長方形教堂。在修繕行動開始前,這間教堂被忽略了數十年,不但屋頂漏水、窗戶破損、馬賽克鑲嵌畫遭塵土覆蓋,只見斷垣殘壁和受損的石柱。經過五年多的努力,現在教堂已大為改觀。
伯利恆市極度仰賴耶誕節的觀光業。當地旅館、餐廳、紀念品店整年的業績主要都來自於這個短短的假期。修復後的教堂,現在已成為大受歡迎的旅遊景點。
(台北時報章厚明譯)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110